CHRISTINA EICHELKRAUT / PVT A pilot shows one of the youths participating in the Young Eagles flight rally at the Calvada Meadows Airfield on Saturday the basics before taking off for a flight around Pahrump Valley. Advertisement

Ten-year-old Mitchell Robinson was so excited talking about his flight above Pahrump last Saturday, he literally couldn't sit still.

Clutching his Young Eagles certificate, the youth explained how he was going 200 mph in mid-air, and how the pilot "showed us all where everything was and how to turn.

"It was really fun on the plane," Robinson said, with a smile so wide it didn't seem like it could fit on his face.

Robinson was just one of many 8- to 17-year-olds who showed up at the Calvada Meadow Airpark last Saturday to participate in the Young Eagles flight rally, hosted by Pahrump Chapter 1160 of the Experimental Aircraft Association.

The rally was a chance for youths to learn about planes, flying, and flight safety from pilots while getting first-hand experience by riding in the planes.

"(The pilot) showed us the rotor, 30-degree left turns and banking, and told us what all the buttons do," Robert White, 11, explained.

Each of the young pilots received a certificate and will be entered into the "World's Largest Logbook," permanently on display at the EAA Air Venture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis.

But it wasn't just the younger kids who had fun.

Ben Sample, 17, climbed out of the "Dragon Master" (an RV6 airplane built and flown by Roger Hansen, uniquely painted with a purple dragon on its side) last Saturday.

When asked to describe his flight about the Pahrump valley, he simply stated it was "awesome" before describing how it began with taking off about 65 miles per hour. Later Hansen, who was flying, "put some Gs on it."

Sample made the most of his time in the air, looking down at the valley below and sometimes being unable to recognize from the air what were normally familiar landmarks.

But the event was also enjoyable for the pilots.

"I love flying kids," Hansen said. "Of all the kids I've flown I've had two successes."

Hansen was referring to two girls he had flown who, after their first flight, went on to make flying a permanent part of their life.

One now has her private flying license, and another is currently training in the Air Force.

Keeping the passion for flying alive was another reason for the rally, and judging by the turnout, it was successful by all accounts.